MTB Skills Area - Must have features?

What do people think makes for a good mountain bike skills area? I’m looking for examples, pictures and suggestions for must have essentials for a purpose built skills area that will be constructed by professional contractors.

Depends on who you want to attract - I've seen quite a few beginners groups on the one by Manchester velodrome - adults who appear not to have ridden a bike for years, and the skill level is very, very basic.

The Manc one would probably be good to take a look at, if you're after ideas for what a novice-friendly skills loop might look like.

+1 for the double and table line (in parallel) - a lot of people struggle with the psychology of jumping doubles, but if you can see a direct comparison between the tables you've just cleared and a set of doubles then it'll make the transition easier (in theory)!

Doubles in a range of heights.
I would put beginner's features off to one side and arrange features by difficulty rather than putting all the doubles in a line or all the drops in the same place.
Most importantly can you build it close to my house?

Who do you want to attract? Are you looking at people just playing and learning by trial and error or might they be coached?

If there's going to be any level of coaching, a nice clear flat area big enough for a wide figure of 8 is invaluable. Make sure the surface is soft enough to stumble on but not long draggy grass as you need to be able to roll on it.

When you start coaching people, you realise how much work people need on fundamentals like braking, gear changing and cornering.

A nice comfortable table-top.
So many skills areas have jumps built for BMX - tight, with awkward run-ins, or a dipped top.
Llandegla for example - jumps in the skills area - rubbish. Jumps on the trail - great.
Same with Dalby (last time I was there).
Just a nice dead straight jump with a long backside transition.

Lots of stuff, easily repeated, basically. If you look at the glentress one now, it's pretty terrible, the actual features are decent but it's become a very tiny xc loop rather than any sort of meaningful skills area.

The one at Comrie Croft is very good in most ways IMO, goes all the way from a tiny pumptrack for kids bikes, up to decent sized jumps and mandatory air drops and the like, and all super compact and mostly ridable in little loops. It's not that impressive to look at but it works really well, I always end up riding it til I can't, rather than getting bored.

Hrm... no, to me that's not much of a skills area. Motorway gravel, tiny drops, wide wide woodwork, I'd feel cheated if I was getting built up for some new local skills trails and got that!

Whilst not mahoosive I'd not say they were tiny. And freshy built trails are deceptive, after a few weeks the edges will sink into the ground and the mud will get washed onto the trail untill you're left with actual singletrack.

I like that Leighton Buzzard one.

I would prefer a trail with some gradient though, drops wouldn't work on a pump track (without pedaling). Maybe having 4 sequentialy bigger drops (and bail outs) so you can ride the trail building upto the bigger ones each time. Then crossing the push/ride up track, then 4 tabletops with parralel doubles. Then something else like tightening switchbacks, switchbacks with steps in them, sections with awquard line choices. So you could do just one section on repeat, or do the whole thing.

I think tight berms are one of the less well ridden features at trail centers, at Swinely you could ride much higher/faster entrances and exits than the main braking bump riddled trail, showing that they could be ridden with less braking in the first place! But difficult to build them on flat ground

Successively bigger drops with chicken runs past all of them so you can do full runs and and flow better when you're working your way up with heights. Putting berms in between the drops is a good idea because then you get twice as much out of the same piece of trail, and having other things to occupy the brain can help you progress by reducing tension.

A proper beginner tabletop. Side by side tabletops and gaps done the same so you can mix up the smaller gaps and bigger tables as you progress.

Northshore features close to the ground so you can build technique/confidence with minimal risk.

Two flat corners, one left, one right which exit uphill, so you can work on improving exit speed with better cornering technique by comparing how far uphill you get without pedalling.

Northshore features close to the ground so you can build technique/confidence with minimal risk.

+1 and the gradual drops/tabletops already mentioned.
Oh and stick to one skill at a time don't have drop into berm into jump into etc and if you are doing a run of little - medium - big drops make sure there is enough space between them for land, get a wobble on, recover and then brake to a halt if needed before the next drop.

None of my local trails are 20 miles long. Maybe 1min max. I can repeat as much as necessary. I don't understand the mentality to ride loops only once or without stopping and doing good/hard bits again.

That said I don't understand skills areas. If you can't see/find a challenge on a normal trail, or ride around town, you are not really trying.